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by vsulli



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 13:40:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13905192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vsulli/pseuds/vsulli
Summary: Kaz takes Inej to a town near Lij, where he knew a family that owned a farm for years, and they meet someone from Kaz's past that he was not ready to see.(I was setting this up to be a multi-chapter fic, but as of right now I'm not planning or writing an update, sorry)





	Home

Inej followed him soundlessly, as she always did. With every three steps he took, she followed with one. Their steps left footprints in the layer of dust that coated the floor, more dust covering the tops of shelves and tables, and even some swirled in the dimmed beams of sunlight filtering in between tattered drapes. The house smelled damp and rotted, which came to no surprise considering how long it had been since anyone had stepped foot inside. The house was large, larger than anything in Ketterdam, where the houses were packed in to fit as many as possible. This house had all the space it needed on the large swatch of land it sat on, it was almost five Slats put together, Inej had a hard time imagining the people that could fill such a space. 

She looked around as Kaz walked, looking up, and up, and up even higher at the tall ceilings, chipped paint told her the beams that lined it used to be a bright white, now dirtied and scraped to brown wood. Birds nests lined the beams as well, but Inej heard no sound, those abandoned too. However, the nests weren’t what made Inej smile, it was the paper that hung down from small bits of string that were tied around each beam. They were folded into boats, swaying from some unsourced draft giving off the illusion of-

“Flying ships?”

“A child’s dream.” 

It was the first he’d spoken since entering the home, and when he did speak he wasn’t looking to where she was. He knew what was up there, he had no need. 

“Your dream?” 

He said nothing, but from behind she could just make out the frown he now dawned. She didn’t follow when he rounded a corner, instead giving the paper ships one last look before she finally hurried after him. The room was what was left of a kitchen, the appliances long stolen, the cabinet doors hanging from weakened hinges, but despite the sight of disarray, Kaz finally smiled. 

“Did your father like to cook?”

Inej imagined a young Kaz standing on a chair next to a man, hands dirtied from flour but smiling just as he was then. In her mind the kitchen wasn’t the mess she saw, it was the same white she saw on the beams in the other room, bustling with life as the small family worked to prepare a meal.

“He liked to try.”

“And your mother?”

He said nothing again but turned back around to where they came, brushing passed her without another word. Inej ran her hand over the counter and wiped the dust onto her pant leg, she stared at the now cleared spot, it was covered in tiny, once colourful, tiles. If she cleaned the rest, she knew she’d find a mosaic of some kind. However, the sound of Kaz’s clattering cane caught her attention instead.

“Kaz?”

“Inej.” His voice sounded strained, as if he had something pressing against his throat. And there was. 

The woman was small, smaller than Inej herself, but far more plump. As if she’d consisted of a diet of just waffles from the day she was born. She held an old shotgun in her hand, much too big for her, but she looked more than sure holding it in her small round hands. Inej froze at the door, she couldn’t see Kaz’s face but he had his hands up in surrender, something she’d never seen him do before. Especially when he towered over his attacker. 

“Trespassers are not allowed,” the woman seethed, jabbing the tip of her gun deeper. 

Inej hadn’t used her knives in almost months, having no need to since the years after Kaz’s takeover of the Barrel and her own leave from captaining. Now, she felt the familiar weight of them in her palms, ready for Kaz to give any sort of signal. She’d never killed anyone as old as this lady, but she would if that person was willing to kill her friends. Kaz spoke, and Inej dropped a knife in surprise. 

“Bastiaan Rietveld.” The name only caused the woman to let up on his throat, letting him suck in a much needed breath. Her eyebrow was raised, still wary of the boy she was looking at. “I’m the son of Bastiaan Rietveld.” The name seemed to only anger the woman more, she cocked the gun, but before she could shoot, the gun was in Kaz’s hands.

“You are a liar!” The woman exclaimed, making a grab for the gun but failing. “Those boys died with the plague.” 

“My father was Bastiaan Rietveld,” he repeated, taking a step back from the woman, “and my mother was Rhetta Johannus,” she still said nothing. Kaz sighed, “they had two boys, Jordan, named after Rhetta’s father, and Kazimir, named after Bastiaan’s grandfather.” Inej was too distracted by Kaz’s words to pay attention to the woman’s reaction, he’d never told her about who he was named for, or that Kaz wasn’t even his real name. “Jordie and Kaz, we used to steal fruit off your trees and your husband almost shot Jordie for kissing your daughter. I’m not trespassing, this was my home.” 

He coughed, and for the first time he looked back over his shoulder at Inej before turning back to the woman, “Auntie Meyer,” Inej hadn’t heard Kaz call anyone by the title since her years ago knowing him, it sounded strange coming from his mouth, “It’s me, Kaz, I don’t know how else to prove to you that it is me.” 

Inej could see the process of recognizing Kaz as it crossed the woman’s face, Kaz dropped the gun and Inej straightened, not knowing what was happening. The woman’s hands went up to her mouth as she gasped, and Inej’s own eyes widened when her’s filled with tears.

“I should have known,” the woman whispered, “you look just like Rhetta.” Inej could only watch as she stepped forward and place her hands gently on his face, he tensed but made no move to step away. “So grown up, what happened to my sweet boy?” 

“I haven’t been that boy in a long time.” 

It took Inej a second to realize he was crying just like the woman, Inej had only seen him cry once, years ago when he told her about his old life. Watching the exchange, she racked her brain for anything he could have told her about this woman. She couldn’t remember a thing, this was a part of his life that he wanted to be kept secret, to keep safe, nothing could be said out loud in Ketterdam without someone hearing. 

“And who’s this, Kaz?” The woman finally asked. Inej found herself straightening again when she looked over at her. The smile she wore was the same smile her own mother gave her, it brought warmth and a sense of calm. Inej returned it. “I always knew our Kazimir would have a beautiful wife.” Kaz turned then, giving Inej a small smile before stepping over to stand next to her and lace their hands together. Inej cleared her throat and shook her head, laughing awkwardly at the woman’s words.

“I’m not his wife, Misses Meyer”

“You don’t need the ring to feel the same love,” she said making Inej’s face warm up at the look she gave, “what is your name?”

“Inej Ghafa,” Kaz answered for her.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl, you have chosen a great boy, Miss. Ghafa.” Inej couldn’t help but smile up at him, “now, it is time for dinner, and I’m sure you two are hungry.” 

“Thank you, Auntie Meyer, but I was thinking of taking Inej to Mister Felix’s-”

“His son owns it now, but the food is still as good as ever,” she said, nodding approvingly, “where are you staying, then?” 

“I hear The King’s Garden has new owners,” he gave Inej a quick look, squeezing her hand gently, “it was my mother’s favourite place and I wanted to see it again.” 

“Then you will come for breakfast, do you still like waffles?” Inej snorted before she could stop herself, earning an eye roll and a smile, one from each party. “I take that as a yes, I will make waffles and you can tell me all about your new life in Ketterdam and how you met your lovely lady.” 

“Thank you, Auntie Meyer,” Kaz said, nodding and smiling like Inej had never seen him smile, “I miss your waffles.”

She placed one hand back on his cheek, using her other to smooth back his already perfect hair. Sighing happily, she finally pulled him down to a hug, Kaz let go of Inej’s hand just to return it. 

“Make sure you come, we’ve all missed you,” Inej heard her whisper, “and thank you for buying The King’s Garden, without you it would have been torn down and built over like everything else in our small town.” 

-

"You were different," Inej said later as they walked to the restaurant. "Almost sweet."

"Auntie Meyer treated me and Jordie like sons, she doesn't deserve to be treated like everyone else." 

"Coming home has changed you, Kaz."

"No, Ketterdam changed me, coming home has just reminded me of who I was, and want to be again." 


End file.
